Pastor’s Corner — April 13th, 2025
Lenten Mission Success!
Hundreds of people from our parishes attended our Parish Grouping Lenten Mission with Pete Burak. By all accounts it was very fruitful! If you weren’t able to make it, you can watch the short evenings here:
1. Which Story Are You Living? Lenten Mission Night One
2. The Joy of Obedience | Lenten Mission Night Two
3. 7 Reasons We Don’t Evangelize | Lenten Mission Night Three
So strongly do I believe in the relevance of these talks that I’m considering sending out an email reminder to the entire parish about them. The last talk in particular, which built on the previous two, was particularly poignant for the Church today and it ended with a powerful time of prayer.
If you didn’t attend the mission, it might be a great idea to watch/listen to them as you fast from media during Holy Week.
New Seminarian Deacon Assigned to St Pat’s!
As we congratulate Deacon Josh who will be ordained a priest on June 14th, we received news recently that St Pat’s has been assigned a new seminarian who will be ordained a deacon next month. Peter Randolph will be ordained a transitional Deacon on May 17th in the same Mass during which Leon Demers will be ordained. While no one can really replace seminarian Deacon Josh, Peter will do great here. Here is a note from Peter Randolph:
My name is Peter Randolph, and I am a seminarian from Christ the King in Ann Arbor. I am the oldest of seven children, and I have been a faithful Catholic my whole life. I was homeschooled through high school, received my bachelors in Classical and Early Christian Literature at Ave Maria University in Florida, and entered seminary. I am currently finishing my fifth year of seminary and will be ordained a deacon in May.
I enjoy reading, learning ancient languages (I can read, to some extent, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew), spending time outside, lifting weights, rucking (wearing weight in a backpack and walking), playing board games, cooking and baking, playing piano, and spending time with my family. Jesus in the Eucharist is the core of my spiritual life. Spending time with Him daily in the Eucharist and at Mass is one of the greatest joys and deepest foundations of my life. I love Our Lady and many of the saints, including Ss. John of the Cross, Elizabeth of the Trinity, Gemma Galgani, and Philip Neri. I love delving into Scripture, which is part of the reason that I studied Latin and Greek, and find the Word of God a source of nourishment. And, honestly, knowing Jesus is such a blessing. He is with me in my suffering, but He is also so much fun and enjoys showing me how much He loves me.
I am so honored to be able to serve you all as a deacon. I had a brief stay at St. Pat’s at the end of 2020, when I was finishing my first semester of seminary. Now, God has brought me back to this parish in my last year of seminary, and I am so grateful to be returning. I look forward to a longer stay this time in which I can be more involved in parish life and get to know your community. Please pray for me as I begin my ordained ministry and know that I will be praying for you.
(Deacon) Peter begins his assignment here on Tuesday May 20th and he’ll be with us for an entire year until his ordination in June 2026.
Deacon Josh’s last preaching weekend is this weekend (Palm Sunday) and his last weekend is Easter weekend. Please wish him your best.
Staff and March Madness
I’m so glad that Bob Donehue, one of our maintenance workers, won the staff March Madness pool. If another person would have won (the runner up), I don’t think I would have heard the end of it from her! I got fourth place and Fr Joshua got eleventh place. Just saying.
Kudos to the St Pat’s Knights of Columbus!
If you’re reading this online, this upcoming Friday is the last K of C Lenten Fish Fry. (If you’re reading on Sunday, it’s already over). This first year of the Knights doing fish fries every weekend has been a learning process for sure. But it has also been a huge success. I cannot tell you how proud I am of all of the men and school students who spent countless hours of their time week in and week out to make these parish community events possible. I would also be remiss if I didn’t thank all of you who patronized our fish fries to make them successful. Thank you!
Holy Week and Triduum Liturgies
Whether it’s committing to more time for prayer, reading Scripture, or watching the mission videos, my pastoral challenge is to make Holy Week holy, that is set apart from the other weeks of Lent. Consider doing a social media or a technology fast or just spending more quiet time before the Lord. It’s amazing how much time we find we have when we give up TV or social media. Preparing for Easter through a good and prayerful Holy Week helps us hear God’s voice, which is hard to hear when we’re so busy on our devices. It also helps us grow in a relationship of love with our crucified and Risen Lord.
Moreover, I cannot recommend enough coming to the Holy Triduum here (Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Vigil on Saturday). These liturgies are the most beautiful and profound of the entire liturgical year. At the Easter Vigil, which is the mother of all liturgies, we will be welcoming seventeen new Catholics into the Catholic Church!
Even if you can’t come, may you walk closely with Christ this Holy Week so that you might come to know more deeply his crucified love for you.
Your servant in the Lord,
Fr. Mathias